Shadow Rising

“Really?” she asked, and giggled when he pushed her onto her back to rub noses with her, purring.



“Yes. We’ll go house shopping. I’ll drive you mad. And then we’ll make love in every room in the place before we move anything in, for luck.”



“You’re a bad influence,” she told him, then dragged him down for a kiss. He made a low, yummy sound, and the sound of purring grew louder. He grinned against her mouth, surprising her.



“What?” she asked.



“That’s not me anymore, kitten, that’s you. I’ve made you purr. It’s incredibly sexy.”



“Purring,” she laughed, delighted that she’d gained something like that from their bond. “It’ll be fur next.” The prospect didn’t seem to bother Damien.



“I hope so. We could go prowling together at night, you and I.”



She smirked. “Or maybe you’ll develop wings, and we can go flying.”



His complexion went green immediately. “If they’re there, I don’t want to know. I have no interest in flying when I’ve got perfectly good ground to stand on.”



“Drake would love you.”



“Drake can shove it. The only one whose love I’m interested in is you.”



Ariane tangled her fingers in his hair, thinking she had never seen such a perfectly imperfect man in all her life… and that she wouldn’t trade him for anything.



“I love you. Every bit of you,” she said.



Damien covered her body with his own, a wicked smile turning his eyes the glowing blue of the evening sky.



“I love you, too, Ariane. But surely you must love some bits more than others. Let’s see if we can find out which…”



And in the darkness, the angel and the shadow twined together and were one.